1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to receptacles for mail, newspapers and the like, specifically to a mail collection box for rural and city delivery.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a mailbox erected at the edge of a roadway or curbside of a street in a rural area, town and village is positioned so as to allow a postal carrier to drive up to the mailbox. Street side mailboxes serve two important and primary purposes, the first of which is to receive mail and other deliveries, to include newspapers, magazines, and like, and the second of which is to provide a deposit point for outgoing mail and parcels for pick up by the letter carrier as he or she makes their rounds. Roadside located mailboxes are typically provided with a hinged door that opens outward from the bottom of the mailbox. This positioning results in the opening of the mail box being directed outwardly toward the roadway with the open end of the mail box protruding over the edge of the roadway, or closely thereto, such that the mail carrier can insert the mail into the mailbox without leaving his or her vehicle. When the door to the mailbox is opened it typically hits and scratches the mail truck or car. Also in order to gain access to the interior compartment of the mailbox the door has to be manually opened and closed by the mail person. The manual opening and closing of a mailbox door and lowering of a mailbox flag by a mail carrier is a time-consuming task. The problem is greatly amplified when repeated many times along the course of a mail route. In addition, mailboxes typically have flat solid continuous floors without drainage. When water enters the interior compartment of a mailbox it typically damages any object contained therein. Mailboxes are known in the art. Accordingly, a need exists for a mailbox that allows for safe and easy access that overcomes the above drawbacks.
Many prior attempts have been made to mitigate the problems associated with rural mail delivery. For example:
U.S. Pat. No. 706,843 to Moore discloses a mailbox having a hinged door within the doorframe with a lock. The door is provided with a slot that is guarded by a swinging shutter or flap, the ends of which are pivoted or hinged to the door. When the flap is moved it triggers the flag to indicate mail has been deposited. The slot limits the size and quantity of mail that can be deposited into the mailbox at one time. Additionally, this mailbox is provided with a locking hinged door, which swings open from the side. The locked door cannot be opened by a mail carrier to deposit larger mail items.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,757 to Hicks discloses a dual access newspaper box with a door that opens inwardly and is hinged from the top for easy insertion of a newspaper. This device is a receptacle for newspapers with a frontal end and a back end for receiving and holding newspaper materials for storage and withdrawal of such materials from the receptacle. The door is attached to a rod and the door pivots and swings into the housing area. The rod is inserted in an opening for free rotation and a coil spring is affixed to the wall to serve to bias the door from completely free movement when it is moved inwardly. This receptacle however, is of no use in receiving deposited articles that are of a length greater than that the open area within the housing because the article must be placed clear of the door so that the door may close properly. In addition this device is not provided with a mechanism to alert the carrier that there are items left in the box that need to be picked up.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,702 to Martin discloses another newspaper box, again with an inwardly opening door for easy insertion of the newspaper. However the newspaper has to be pushed deep into the compartment of the box so as to allow the door to be closed. Here too, there is no way to present mail or the like to be picked up by the delivery person.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,096 to Thomas shows a mailbox insert that is placed inside a collection mailbox, and is placed at the bottom of the box to protect the contents from any liquid that might accumulate at the bottom, to protect the mail. This mailbox insert is comprised of a plate that is composed of substantially ridged material such as sheet metal. The plate metal is corrugated in a configuration as a series of alternating ridges and valleys.
Great Britain Patent No. 2,225,645 to Alpha Industries Ltd shows a mailbox with a flap swinging into the box. The flap is operatively arranged to simultaneously move an interior door that provides a barrier between the mail that has been previously deposited and the opening for the flap. Although this device may provide for security against theft, the opening is situated so as to limit the size and quantity of mail that can be deposited at one time. Additionally outgoing mail cannot be placed in an accessible location within the device.
The present invention seeks to alleviate the problems previously associated with mailboxes.